SJHS News

Winners of Mr. Gillespie’s “Photo of the Week” contest:  Maddi Dayton,  Carli Sorenson, BreAnna Elzinga and Aleks Newman.

Nikki Drake
SJHS Staff Writer

Mr. Jethro Gillespie, photography and art teacher at SJHS, does something neat every week for his photography class. He calls it “Photos of the Week.”  Mr. Gillespie chooses two photos from each of his two photography classes, totaling to four photos to display in the hallway as “Photos of the Week.” He chooses the ones that are on time, and go with the topic best. When it’s too hard for him to choose between all the good photos he has his classes help him choose.  Many of his students really try, and most succeed. “This semester, I’ve had more students competing than any other time,” Mr. Gillespie said.

Mr. Gillespie chooses topics that the students will enjoy, such as portraits, landscapes, babies, water, windows, signs, and free shoot to give the students a little more choice. The students who turn them in on time, get full credit, and if their photos get chosen for photos of the week, they get 10 points extra credit.

Four students, who had some of the best photos, had something to share.  “It’s really cool when my photo gets chosen, because it makes me feel important and that I’m going to do well at something I like to do,” Aleks Newman, eighth grader, said. “It was super neat. It made me smile every time I saw it hanging up,” Maddi Dayton, eighth grade student at SJHS, said.

Some advice these students had to share might help future photography students. “You always have to try your best, even if you don’t think you’re good, you could be far better than you think. If you don’t try, there is no chance of accomplishment.” Aleks Newman shared.  Maddi Dayton had some different advice though, “Take all photos possible, and then you can edit them. After you’re done, just choose the best one.”